Tom's Hardware Microsoft silently kills Windows and Office phone activation and forces online activation with a Microsoft account — Windows users are now herded into an online-only portal for activation
Microsoft has somehow put the cap on yet another way to circumvent its internet-powered setup process, and this time it's on a build that they haven't even supported for a while! Production activation via call is still listed in Microsoft's support docs, but a new YouTube video running Windows 7 shows it now redirects you to the online portal.